In response he moved closer and very slowly traced a finger across her smooth cheek. Vivid went stock-still under his caress, her heart beating fast.
"Why are you doing this to me?" he asked in a soft voice.
Mesmerized, Vivid could only swallow as he continued to speak. "You make me want to take you hunting and fishing...berry picking and snowshoeing..."
"I'd like to do those things with you..."
"I know you would, that's what scares me so..."
His thumb moved gently over her lips and he leaned down and kissed her with a heat that branded her as his own. Vivid stepped closer to better feel his lips on hers, and as though it was what he was waiting for, he slid his arm about her waist and eased her against his hard body. The kiss deepened. Vivid ran a hand over the strength of his shoulder. When his tongue slid seductively between her parted lips she began to tremble.
He kissed her neck, making her sigh and melt as he brushed his lips over the scented hollow of her throat. She had no alternative but to let her head drop back and ride the wave of sensations as his hands moved to tease her breasts. The nipples tightened beneath his toying fingers, budding against the emerald satin in anticipation.
Under the night wind, Nate bared her as he slid her dress down below her breasts. With his tongue he boldly circled her trembling nipples. The deep rustling of the trees muffled her gasp as he gently bit each bud, then suckled wantonly. He feasted, teased, filled his hands with her hips and brought her closer. His tongue was lightning and his hands, sliding her gown slowly over her hips, were brewing the storm.
Nate's manhood throbbed with need for her. Her beautiful dark-tipped breasts and the sensual warmth awaiting his exploring hands beneath the luxurious satin gown were driving him to the edge. Her skin was hot and soft; her mouth, as he sought her lips again, a temptation no man could resist. Her kisses could sustain a man for a lifetime, and that was how long Nate wanted to make love to her, for a lifetime.
Vivid thought she could live forever on just his kiss. She didn't care that her dress, now rucked up past her thighs, had probably sustained irreparable harm from being crushed in his large hands. She didn't care because those large hands were warmly cupping the thin material of her drawers, seducing her, stroking her, making her arch.
"Let's take these off..."
Vivid offered no protest as he slid her drawers from her legs. She felt wanton, brazen, standing in the wind with her dress held aside, naked but for her stockings and high-heeled shoes; she felt only heat as his strong hands caressed her. She couldn't help herself, she parted her legs to give him more access to all that made her female, and as a reward he slowly sank to his knees and kissed her bared thigh.
"Here's something else they didn't teach you in medical school..."
The soft, initial tribute of his love for her made her eyes widen and her legs instinctively close. "Nate, what are you doing?''
Smiling, he looked up at her and said, "Don't you ever stop asking questions?''
Vivid tried to speak but the urge to do so soon vanished under the spell of his hands lazily preparing her for his feast.
"Just relax," he coaxed with both his soft voice and his touch. "Consider this as an extension of your medical education..."
When he bent to her again, his devotions were so delicate, his expertise so masterful, she fought to maintain her calm but lost the battle very early in the campaign.
Before she knew it, sensations she had never experienced before grabbed her being and left her shattered in the night. The wind masked the sound of her screaming his name.
When Vivid finally came back to herself, he was standing over her chuckling smugly, like a conceited male.
"Still cold?" he asked.
He'd left her warmer than she could ever remember. "Where in the world does a man learn something like that?" she asked.
Nate shook his head and responded playfully, "Woman, are you still asking questions? I thought I'd cured you of that just a minute ago."
Vivid's cheeks burned from the memories of his "cure." "It's because it's all so...new."
"I understand."
"Then help me to understand what we're doing, you and I."
He looked down into her eyes and said softly, "I wish I knew, Lancaster. I'm still trying to figure out why you're even here."
Vivid looked out into the night; she didn't know why she was there, either. Her mother, Francesca, was a strong believer in fate. Had the fates brought her here to the wilds of Michigan for the sole purpose of meeting this one man? "Abigail says I'm the pillar of fire in your great-grandfather's dream."
She turned to gauge his reaction.
He said nothing in reply. Instead he brought her back into the circle of his arms and she met his kiss willingly.
A few passionate moments later, he whispered against her ear, "We should get back. Gail's going to start to worry."
Vivid knew he was right, but being there with him was more appealing than seeking her bed. The remnants of this latest encounter still had her senses throbbing. She still wanted to know where men learned to do...that. She felt swollen everywhere. "I don't want to go in."
"We have to, otherwise..." He lowered his mouth to hers and spent a few silent moments nibbling sensually on the sultry treat of her bottom lip.
"Otherwise...what?" Vivid asked. She'd learned her lessons of love well and showed him so by licking softly at the edges of his masterful mouth.
"Quit tempting me," he warned in a tone thick with need.
"You should talk..."
Several more moments passed, heated with kisses, caresses, and Vivid's soft cries. Her breasts were bared again, her dress lifted, and he once again knelt to make her lush, open, and his. She didn't believe it possible, but she screamed even louder the second time.
Chapter 14
They took the train home early the next morning. Nate spent most of his time enjoying the company of his daughter, but every now and then, he'd turn to Vivid with a look that scalded her from the roots of her hair to her toes.
When they arrived in Niles, Vivid was amazed at the amount of goods Nate and the porters unloaded from the boxcar. She couldn't resist teasing him by saying, "And you were critical of the number of purchases I made? Look at all this."
The pile of farm implements, tools, and bolts of cloth were only the tip of the mountain. A good portion of the items were boxed and crated. "Where do you keep the tame animals?" she asked.
He hadn't been able to resist her smile the day he met her at that very station over a month ago, and he certainly wasn't able to resist it now. "Go make yourself useful. See if the livery man brought around our buggy like he was supposed to."
Then he favored her with another one of those heated looks. "I'll take care of the rest of your questions later."
She gave him a sultry little smile, then left to do as he'd asked.
When Nate turned the horses onto the tract that led to the Grove, all the weariness of the journey vanished. Vivid spied the little log cabin she now called home; she drank in the familiar sight of the trees and surrounding flora and realized that she'd become very much attached to this place in the short while she'd been here. She also realized she couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
Nate halted the team beside the Grayson house. Magic immediately hopped down from the wagon and ran straight for the barn to see if queen cat Cleopatra had given birth when they were away, while the adults began unloading the supplies and luggage.
Nate was handing down bags of seed to Vivid, and Gail was leaning on her cane overseeing the process when Eli rode up. Vivid noticed Nate had turned his back on his cousin's arrival, appearing to concentrate instead on maneuvering the items that still needed to be handled.
"Welcome back," Eli called as he strolled up to the wagon. "Need some help?"
Nate and Eli eyed each other, then Nate nodded a terse agreement and they all went to work.
With Eli's help the unloading went swiftly. There were farm implement
s, dry goods for the store, an anvil for the blacksmith, and numerous other items Nate had promised to bring back for several Grove residents.
When the wagon was nearly empty, Gail headed toward the house, announcing dinner would be ready in less than an hour.
The last crates on the wagon belonged to Vivid. They contained precious new medical books she could hardly wait to read. When they were unearthed she eyed them eagerly. "Eli, those crates on your left are mine. Can you push them this way?"
Eli, standing in the wagon bed, turned to where she pointed and bent to shove the crates to one side.
Nate barked, "Leave them be. I can handle them."
Eli stiffened in response. He turned to his cousin, and for a moment Vivid was sure an argument would ensue. Instead, Eli simply shrugged and said through gritted teeth, "Whatever you say, Nate. How about I take this churn in to Mother?"
Nate nodded. Eli inclined his head respectfully to Vivid, picked up the churn, and headed toward the house.
“Had I known my crates were going to make the two of you fight, I’d have gotten them myself," Vivid said after Eli left. When he didn't respond to her thinly veiled condemnation of his manners, she asked, “The two of you haven't always disliked each other, have you?"
Nate slid her largest crate over to the lip of the wagon bed. "No. We were closer than brothers growing up."
"Then what changed between you?"
He looked at her a moment, then went back to moving her two other crates. "Some things are better left alone, Lancaster." He placed the two smaller crates atop the larger one, picked them all up, and without uttering another word, headed across the meadow to her house.
Once inside, he set the crates down where she directed, then turned to leave. As he reached the door, Vivid said, "Thank you for the holiday."
"You're welcome. Don't forget about dinner."
And he was gone.
About an hour after Nate's departure, Magic came over to announce that dinner was ready. Vivid, in the process of unpacking, had forgotten all about the meal. In truth, she didn't want to go, not now when she could feel the new books calling her. However, she stood and dusted the sawdust from her black skirt. She'd made a promise to Gail, and Vivid always tried to keep her word.
To her pleasure, Eli had stayed to join the meal.
Nate said grace and everyone began eating. Gail asked Magic about Cleopatra and the girl informed all that the much slimmer black feline had been seen in the barn, but the kittens were nowhere to be found. After vowing to continue the search following her evening chores, Magic then regaled her cousin Eli with all the things she'd witnessed and done on the trip to Detroit. Eli listened raptly and asked all the appropriate questions. Vivid watched the interplay with a smile. It was obvious that Eli loved Magic as much as everyone else. She was glad to see that the feuding cousins had not made the child choose sides.
After she and Magic helped Abigail clean up the kitchen, Vivid prepared to say her goodbyes for the evening. Magic protested Vivid s early leaving. "It isn't dark yet. Dr. Lancaster. I was hoping we could play checkers tonight."
Vivid smiled at the disappointment on Magic's brown face and ran a soothing hand over the dark braided head. "I need to get to sleep. There were a few messages in my box, so I have some patients I need to check on tomorrow. How about we make an appointment for later in the week? Agreed?"
Magic nodded.
Abigail spoke up, "Magic, there's still a bit of light left. Why don't you run over to Jeremiah's and show him your new marbles?"
Delight spread over Magic's features. "Can I Pa?"
"Your chores done?"
She shook her head enthusiastically.
"Then go," her father said. Magic ran to her room to retrieve the marbles, then shot out of the door faster than lightning.
Vivid headed back to her place and sat on her front porch looking through her new books until it became too dark to see the print on the pages. With the night rolling in, the mosquitoes became more voracious and bold. Slapping at one of the little winged beasties feeding nonchalantly on her forearm, she smiled at its demise and went indoors, knowing she'd only lose more blood if she tarried a moment longer.
At about the same time, Nate, having put Magic to bed, stood at his bedroom window staring down at Lancaster's cabin. She'd been in his thoughts most of the day, helping him relive last night's intimate encounter in the gazebo. The taste of her dark beauty haunted him. Each and every time he had met her eyes that day, he envisioned having her bared and naked to his caresses. Not even Eli's unwanted presence at dinner had dampened his desire. That she could be distracting enough to make him ignore his cousin spoke of her power. He decided that he wanted her, plain and simple.
But to have her he'd have to marry her. She was not a whore in a lumber camp, or one of the accommodating widows up in Kalamazoo. Viveca was cultured, educated, and the town's only doctor. She was also a virgin. Nate had never been a trifling man and he had no plans to begin now. So his choices were either to actively pursue her in front of God and everybody, or to ignore this ache he'd developed for her and get on with his life. He'd considered his life fairly full until now. People in the Grove lived simple lives; he had the love of his daughter, Aunt Gail, friends, and neighbors, and on those occasions when he needed to let off steam, Eli was always around to lend a hand, but lately he sensed life had not been as complete as he'd believed. Viveca seemed to have relit a spark within him that he'd willingly let go cold. The death of his father, the terrible memories of Fort Pillow, and the dissolution of his marriage had changed him, he readily acknowledged. He'd become less joyous, more serious. Now, over a decade later, he still carried remnants of much pain deep down inside. Yet being with Viveca seemed to be exposing those dark places to light. Even when the two of them were at odds, he found the air around her electrifying, scintillating, vibrant. She made him feel alive, eager to embrace life. The only other person capable of imbuing him with such fullness of spirit had been Majestic.
So what did he want? Logical choice or illogical choice? The logical choice would be to distance himself; she made it quite clear where she stood on becoming involved with a man at this juncture of her life, and the fate of her position here as doctor still remained unresolved. The illogical choice would be to pursue her.
He chose the illogical.
He chose the light.
Inside the cabin, Vivid placed the book she'd been reading on the shelf with the others in her small library. Her eyes strayed to her old textbooks standing like soldiers on the shelf above. She reached up and took them down.
The memories associated with the tomes came flooding back as she sat and slowly began to look through them. Had it really been four years since she'd started on the road to certification? It seemed like only yesterday that she'd arrived in Philadelphia in 1872 as a member of the twenty-third session of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. The opening coursework had spanned twenty-two weeks of intense study. To fulfill one of the entry requirements, she had practiced for a year under the watchful eyes of Dr. Duncan and Dr. Place in her hometown before applying for admission. They'd made certain to include her when surgical procedures were undertaken; another prerequisite. Duncan and Place had worked her hard to get her ready, but the faculty in Philadelphia worked her even harder. She'd taken instruction in microscopy under the esteemed Dr. J. Gibbons Hunt; physiology and hygiene under the college dean, Dean Ann Preston. By the time three years had passed, she'd been tutored in subjects pertaining to principles and practices of medicine; surgery; anatomy and histology; and obstetrics and diseases of women and children.
Upon graduation she was further required to seek an internship with an established medical facility. Since her major studies had been concentrated in the areas of children and women's health and her thesis had been the "Treatment and Diagnosis of Children," she and another Black woman in her class, Carrie Still, applied for internships at Boston New England Hospital for Women and Children
. The hospital board denied them initially because of their race. When the board subsequently altered its stance a few months later, she and Carrie were allowed to practice.
And now here she sat, in Michigan, looking through the books that made it possible for her to be here. Where did she go from here, though? In the past few weeks she had felt herself being pulled in opposite directions. She loved being a doctor, loved knowing that because of her training and care the children in the Grove would grow up to become healthy adults. She envisioned growing old here, and by then she would probably even know her way around, but where did Nate fit into her future? She never knew she could be so moved by a man. His dark face and spectacled eyes were commanding more and more of her time and thoughts. Last night in the gazebo his soft touches and wanton loving had rendered her absolutely mindless. Every time he looked at her she remembered how brazen he'd been, and how loudly she'd screamed that second time around. How could she fulfill her career goals and yet want nothing more out of life than to have him hold her and love her? The two paths couldn't possibly be compatible, could they? She'd known many women who'd viewed their careers as nothing more than a stepping stone to marriage with a successful man. They'd traded their stethoscopes for wedding rings, baby cribs, and all that being a wife and mother entailed. Few, if any, felt the need to pursue their former goals.
So what did she want? Ideally, she wanted both Nate's love and her doctoring, but she also knew the time would come when she'd have to make a choice.
She decided it might be best to seek some advice, so she sat at the desk and began writing a letter to her sister Jess.
Vivid loved both her sisters equally but Jess had a tendency to be more frank with her advice. When Vivid needed wisdom or guidance, she wrote to Alicea, but if a man was involved she knew to pen Jess. She looked up from her missive and thought about the passion Nate had brought to her life. The way he kissed, the way his hands brought her nipples to pleading points, came back to her mind with such sensual clarity she could feel her lips tingling. She bent back over her letter and wrote,